Patterson powers Rockets past Pistons

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – With barely three minutes left and the Rockets holding the shakiest of three-point leads, Kyle Lowry felt like dancing.

The Rockets have booted the final minutes of close games this season and had been worse in The Palace of Auburn Hills where they had lost eight of their previous nine games.

Lowry, however, jumped, swirled and swayed through the ‘Cha-Cha Slide,’ as if there was no way the Rockets could do anything but easily close out the Pistons. He was right. Patrick Patterson gave the Rockets a phenomenal fourth quarter and the Rockets rolled through the final minutes, surging past the Pistons, 108-100, Tuesday.

Patterson scored 11 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, including six-consecutive points when the Rockets pulled away. And he enjoyed himself as much as Lowry had enjoyed hoofing through a time out, though unlike did not deny it.

“There were times I kept looking over to see if coach wanted to sub me out, but there came a point in time I realized, ‘Hey he’s going to leave me in,’ “ Patterson said. “I was just having a ball out there. I loved it.”

He was not the only one. Rockets coach Rick Adelman went with his bench through most of the fourth quarter, finally returning Shane Battier and Lowry for the last three minutes.

Patterson, however, led the Rockets, taking advantage of a mismatch inside and the room to work with Brad Miller stationed at the 3-point line.

“I hit my first (3-point) shot of February,” Miller said. “Then they got to come out and we get them in rotations. I know how to pass and dribble just enough so it worked out.”

With Pistons coach John Kuester going with his reserves for the fourth quarter, holding out Greg Monroe after he had 12 points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes, Patterson was quick enough to stay with Austin Daye and too powerful for him inside.

“Coach just went into pick and roll,” Patterson said. “Every time I went to the basket, it seemed my teammates would find me. Or if I ran in transition, I would try to bury my man under the basket. It seemed like my teammates were looking for me more than they likely should have in the fourth quarter.”

Adelman had liked the much-needed boost of energy Patterson and Courtney Lee had provided off the bench enough to rely on them down the stretch.

Until then the bench had provided that early lift, the Rockets had been in a fog. They made 1 of their first 8 shots and did not come close to defending Detroit. Tracy McGrady had eight points, six rebounds and two assists in the first eight minutes. The Pistons quickly led by 10.

McGrady, however, was called for fouling Kevin Martin on a 3-pointer, adding a technical foul. Martin hit all four free throws as McGrady headed to the bench. McGrady had two points and one assist the rest of the way, sitting out the last 16 minutes.

Once the Rockets began getting stops, they began picking up the tempo and hitting shots, taking their first lead in the last minute of the first half. Shane Battier harassed Tayshaun Prince into an 0 for 9 shooting game. The Rockets led by as much as 11 in the third quarter.

“We got over the All Star-itis,” Lowry said. “Once we got our rhythm and our feet back under us, we picked it up a little bit and picked up the intensity. We got the game moving a bit faster than they wanted.”

The teams traded the lead or tied the game 14 times in the fourth quarter until Patterson took over. He put in an offensive rebound then finished a reverse through a foul for a three-point play and a four-point Rockets lead with 3:12 remaining.

“He’s going to be a good player in this league for a long time,” Battier said. “Once he figures it out on a nightly basis, he’s going to be a handful to deal with.”

He returned to the line moments later and made two free throws, surpassing his previous career high of 15 points and pushing the Rockets lead to six. Brooks put in two more free throws for an eight-point lead heading into the final two minutes.

Before long, Lowry was not the only one in the mood to dance.